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Progymnasmata is "an effectively graded sequence of exercises, from the simple to the more difficult or complex, from the concrete to the more abstract, that introduces speakers and writers to a genuinely rhetorical understanding of the invention and composition of arguments" (D'Angelo 1).
It originated in late antiquity, popularized in Tudor England, and was perpetuated as schoolboy "themes," faintly echoed in college composition courses. Progymnasmata was developed by Aphthonius, Theon, and Hermogenes, but resuscitated by Frank D'Angelo.
These exercises introduce the student to a variety of techniques and concepts that would be fundamental in more advanced work, and give him the opportunity to practice separately the skills that would have to be combined when doing more advanced exercises and composing real speeches. Classical progymnasmata contains 14 assignments ranked by degree of complexity. (Citations: http://members.aol.com/cmarsch786/progym.htm http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/zaire/131/nadarhet.html )
Discussion Sites: http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Pedagogy/Progymnasmata/Progymnasmata.htm http://nadabs.tripod.com/nada-progym.html#1
Discussion Questions: 1. After viewing these sites, do you see classical progymnasmata already in the composition classroom? 2. Should it have a stronger influence on the curriculum of remedial English or ESL students? Why?
More Information: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/resources/rhetoric/prog-aph.htm